Renaming "the Sikh Temple" To "the Sikh Church"

[intellect4divine]

creative is fine it's just that these games etc create nothing of substance in the minds of the players to attach or encourage the investigation of what sikhi is , which is the prime goal.

Excellent point of view.. All this is already being done and what about the ppl who dont want to spiritual And how does the problem of sikh identity be resolved? I am not against preaching values but we fail when we fail to learn from others.

[jkvlondon]

Thanks for judging me.. best of luck for ur future. And just an eye opener This is same attitude that we ppl show to all who think different and then hope someday we will be listened by others.

veer ji I am puzzled ...I live here in the UK and there are quite a few gurdwaras who have tried the gym , classes route but it hasn't really had much effect on falling youth participation , I am not criticising you wanting to do something to change this , it's just copying church model when it is failing massively here doesn't make that much sense .

I agree kids these days want to be 'built' so the fitness and martial arts route is worth investigating but I don't know how much support it would get from committees and there is the whole insurance liability issue (in case of injuries) to think of and health and safety. If you can get a permanent person to represent that section and manage it within each gurdwara there could be better success, at the moment it is fairly ad hoc .

I would love for more youth to be hands on too, good luck with your game idea it sounds like a longer time needs to be invested than other things you have thought on . I would love to have a personal Hukamnama app on my Blackberry which would have english (local) translation this would be one app that my teenagers would appreciate too and it may encourage them to turn to Guru ji when low or needing advice ...is this the kind of ideas you were thinking of ?

[sikhiseeker]

How about just renaming it from "Sikh temple" to "Gurdwara" as it should be called.

WJKK WJKF

LOL, straight to the point right.

[Guest Jacfsing2]

Excellent point of view.. All this is already being done and what about the ppl who dont want to spiritual And how does the problem of sikh identity be resolved? I am not against preaching values but we fail when we fail to learn from others.

You have good ideas, but you're using ideas that are used by an organization that can die in the next couple decades,(Christianity), plus if they're not interested in the spiritual side it's just not going to change them. We need both Miri and Piri.

[S4NGH]

I think church is the wrong term. So is temple. Heck, may as well call it a synagogue or a mandir. We should stick to our language and our terms. "Sikh Gurdwara" followed by "Sikh place of worship" underneath or wherever for those less mentally abled individuals. Seems to be too many in the states

Architecturally speaking, our gurdwaray need to fit their respective surroundings. A building with domes and gold and all that jazz just looks like a misplaced palace out of Disney Aladin. It is very poor architecture. A building should always relate to its site and surroundings. Originally domes served for acoustic purposes- shouting directly under a dome would equally distribute the noise in all directions. Today domes are used purely for aesthetics. They look absolutely stunning in punjab but in the west, they're completely out of place making absolutely no effort to assimilate...sounds a lot like the Pakistani community over here in the UK...

[sikhiseeker]

WJKK WJKF

The buildings are simply bricks and mortar, the teaching is divine and outshines any man made structure.

Maybe we could right on the sign of our gurdware something simple like non Muslim, sikh temple church building, everyone welcome, please come in to the gurdwara.

Simple.

[intellect4divine]

Agree with all of comments above for prachar and sudhar, however I believe I haven't put the question right. Let me put it right What we can do to get out of muslim identity misconception in west. Bhul chuk maaf

[JSinghnz]

I believe there is every reason for Sikhs to look like Muslims since

1. Gurudwaras are made generally in Mosque Dome design, where it can be build in any shape and size.Designing it in church architecture

make it much more inviting to people around.

2. No clear definition and effort made to convey that all are invited inside them.

3. No effort to convey sikhs as Pro-Women, Pro-Environment, Pro-Democracy, Pro-Development people.

Tips:-

1. Write in English instead of "The Sikh Temple" write "The Sikh Church", it is far more inviting.

2. Use Mobile gaming culture to spread identity awareness in kids & adults for ex- Popular games like Subway surfers and

Temple run can have sikh characters.

3. Run Open-Houses in gurudwaras and sikh homes to invite neibhours.

4. Open Facilities like Free Gymnasiums, Yoga centers in huge gurudwaras for everybody.

Use your intellect if you have some before

posting

[jkvlondon]

Agree with all of comments above for prachar and sudhar, however I believe I haven't put the question right. Let me put it right What we can do to get out of muslim identity misconception in west. Bhul chuk maaf

do what we do best langar , sewa, care for our communities , that's means everyone not just desi peeps. a good deed earns more recognition than a leaflet drop

[Akalifauj]

Agree with all of comments above for prachar and sudhar, however I believe I haven't put the question right. Let me put it right What we can do to get out of muslim identity misconception in west. Bhul chuk maaf

95% of the Muslim world are mona. All the attacks against the west have been committed by Muslims that were mona. The term Sikh Temple was wrong from the day it was introduced. And now you want to dig a deeper hole and start calling Gurdwaras as Sikh Churches? Dig a deeper hole and start calling it Sikh Mosque. The day when Sikhs start respecting their identity by adorning it, is the day people will know the difference between a Muslim and a Sikh. 90% of the Sikh population hide behind their hair cuts and do not want to be identified as Sri Guru Gobind Singh Sahib ji's sons and daughters. How many Sikhs do not know the meaning of Gurdwara and in sake of their own pride of looking stupid in front of a person who asked them, they say it means Sikh temple? Yet ask this Sikh about a popular sport and he will name you all the stats from ten years ago. Sikhs mind are not focused toward Sikhi.

In the west we have massive Nagar Kirtan's and never has anyone said, here comes the Muslims. Why because the Nishan Sahib of Sabat Soorat Sikhs are in a big group and we are easily identified as Sikhs. The British had no issue identifying who were Sikhs and Muslims when they invaded India. If disguising was the answer to this issue, the Gurus would have shaved their head bald in Mecca, grown their hair long when meeting the Buddhist, and tied turbans when meeting Hindus.